ice arrying ability

[lynn789]

does anyone know why a DC2 could apparently cary much more ice than a DC3

[Teddy Robinson]

why does that matter ?

I'm curious as it is a very curious question ! l'm no expert but as I recall the DC2 was a scaled down DC3.. flying on a similar big fat wing .. larger wetted area, more weight more drag perhaps ?

[captplaystation]

I'm amazed anyone can remember much about the DC2, twas a long time ago, and (AFAIK) they were relatively few ? (at least in comparison to the DC3 )

[DozyWannabe]

Quick look on Wikipedia reveals that the earliest DC-3 models had engines that were only marginally more powerful than those of the DC-2 - which was nearly 3,000kg lighter - so in that case, would thrust-to-weight ratio have an effect?

[Big Pistons Forever]

Been reading "fate is the Hunter" perchance

[westhawk]

Ahh, Ernie Gann and the ice with Hughen in the -2. A great read.

Other than the usual generalizations regarding wing loading, airfoil camber and thickness ratio, I wouldn't have anything to offer regarding a comparison of icing behavior between the DC-2 and the DC-3.

[742]

Ahh, Ernie Gann and the ice with Hughen in the -2. A great read.

Other than the usual generalizations regarding wing loading, airfoil camber and thickness ratio, I wouldn't have anything to offer regarding a comparison of icing behavior between the DC-2 and the DC-3.

And in 2011 it is still a great lesson in the value of learning from the senior guys, notwithstanding modern CRM.

Not everything is covered by the pilot puppy mill's curriculum.

"The gigantic Dunn was good-natured enough, but he had a strange facility for making me feel unsure... Yet I learned a great deal from Dunn. He was always wary."

[westhawk]

"The gigantic Dunn was good-natured enough, but he had a strange facility for making me feel unsure... Yet I learned a great deal from Dunn. He was always wary."

And from Chapter V-The Seasoning: "From all these men, including the despotic Alessandro, I learned something of my craft. Little by little their skills and ways of thinking contributed to my own resources until they built into a separate entity which was specifically designed to transport and preserve the lives of others."

As it happens, I am aquainted with a retired AA pilot who joined in the early '40s and whose early career roughly paralleled that of Gann. Lots of wisdom in the head of a man who started on DC-2s as a copilot and retired as a DC-10 Captain having flown everything American flew in between. He's never told me anything about ice except to say it belongs in a highball, not on an airplane!